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Boudin SF is bringing BBQ pork to the menu for a limited time!

I have been a big fan of Boudin SF since my first trip
to San Francisco back in the early 1980’s. We had a big family reunion there
with most of the family flying in from Hawaii. I remember riding the bus and
seeing fog rolling down the hills for the first time. It actually freaked me
out as it was the same time period as the movie, The Fog. We ate dim sum in Chinatown and went down to Fishermen’s
Wharf. This was my first experience with clam chowder in a bread boule. And
little did I know that just ten years later, I would be working at Café Orleans
and the Royal Street Veranda at Disneyland serving this very dish to guests. I
even came up with a unique way of serving the bread boule to look like Mickey
Mouse. This led to working with the Food Concept and Product Development Team and
Walt Disney Imagineering during the construction of Disney’s California
Adventure. I actually got to work alongside Boudin during construction of the
sourdough factory in the Pacific Wharf area.

The Westfield MainPlaceBoudin SF
location, one of nine in Southern California, can be found in Santa Ana. It’s a
lovely space with floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of natural light during the
day. The interior has a nice queue for ordering with different breads available
from small dinner rolls to loaves to larger creations that look like crabs,
teddy bear faces, and more. There is plenty of seating inside and they also have
a small patio area outside as well.

For a limited time, Boudin SF is offering new BBQ Pork
menu items. The sandwiches come with your choice of chips, salad, or coleslaw. Let’s
take a look at them:

Classic BBQ Pork Sandwich ($9.29) is made with
slow-roasted and hand-pulled pork tossed in sweet and savory barbecue sauce
topped with crunchy house made coleslaw, served hot on a garlic-buttered,
toasted sourdough baguette. The pork is nice and tender. The BBQ flavor is more
sweet than savory and the pork needs to be tossed in a little more sauce. The
coleslaw has a nice savory flavor but also needs more sauce as well. Rating:
4/5

Aloha Pork Sandwich ($9.49) is made with slow-roasted
hand-pulled pork slathered with an island-inspired ginger soy barbecue sauce featuring
a hint of honey, topped with house-made caramelized pineapple, tangy pickled
red onion, and fresh chopped cilantro, served hot on a garlic-buttered, toasted
sourdough baguette. This is slightly sweet with a good BBQ flavor. The flavor
profile almost makes it beefy versus pork. The sourdough flavor pairs perfectly
with the pork. The cilantro gives it a refreshing bite. The garlic-buttered
bread adds a creamy richness to the sandwich. I found that this flavor profile
is more Latin or South American versus Hawaiian. We don’t really use cilantro
in Hawaii. It is far more prevalent in Latin cuisine. Rating: 4.5/5

A third option is the Luau Pork Salad ($10.29), a mix
of spring greens and cabbage topped with warm, slow-roasted pulled pork tossed
in ginger soy barbecue, topped with caramelized pineapple and tangy pickled red
onion made in house, fresh-chopped cilantro, crunchy red bell peppers,
cucumbers, carrots, and toasted almonds served with a zesty ginger soy barbecue
vinaigrette. This salad really needs more dressing as the flavor was far too
light. Maybe adding more shoyu to the vinaigrette for the savory kick or even using
a sriracha ranch dressing would be better. Also, pork just doesn’t seem to work
on salad. I think in this case, BBQ chicken would have worked better. Rating:
3.3/5

After shopping at Westfield MainPlace, swing on over
to Boudin SF! Try these one of these BBQ Pork entrees while they last and don’t
forget to get some clam chowder in a bread boule!

OC Food Diva is a local foodie in Orange County, CA with 11 years experience in restaurants - from kitchen to service to menu & restaurant design. With an adventurous appetite, Chelsea scours Orange County (and the rest of the USA) for great eats.